CEQA & Land Use Training April 16

Dear Sacramento Valley residents and citizens,

Here is an affordable educational opportunity to get some CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) & Land Use training next weekend, April 16th, 2016! The Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association is pleased to announce a Planning Commission Training Workshop, which includes CEQA and Land Use topics and is open to the public within the Sacramento Valley!

The Workshop will be held on:
Saturday, April 16, 2016, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
West Sacramento Community Center (1075 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento)
Cost $25 [registration cost covers coffee and light breakfast in the morning, lunch and afternoon cookies]

ECOS is in serious need of volunteers with knowledge in these areas. Don’t miss this opportunity to increase your own valuable environmental expertise, and feel free to share this invitation with your networks!

Agenda

Flyer: http://files.ctctcdn.com/ab56286d401/12e349a3-ce3b-49c6-b26c-baf1fcfe0c06.pdf

Proposed condo tower has midtown looking skyward

March 20, 2016

By Ryan Lillis

The Sacramento Bee

A 13-story condo tower called Yamanee is being proposed for 25th and J streets in midtown Sacramento.

Most of the letters arriving to the City are supportive of the dense, vertical housing. Those who are in opposition point out the problems in giving the OK for Yamanee to be built higher (178 feet) than the 65-foot height limit in midtown.

On Monday, April 11, ECOS will begin looking at the Yamanee Project at our Land Use Committee Meeting.

Monday April 11th, 2016, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Mogavero Architects, 2012 K Street, Sacramento, CA

The ECOS Land Use committee will begin evaluating a 178-foot tower at 25th and J called Yamanee, which would be the tallest residential building in midtown. William Burg with Preservation Sacramento will give a presentation. The proponents of the project have been invited to present, as well.

Read the complete agenda for the April 11th ECOS Land Use committee meeting by clicking on the image below or here.

March 28th Board of Directors Meeting with Mayoral Candidates

Join the Environmental Council of Sacramento for our Board of Directors meeting!

When: Monday, March 28th, 2016 5:30pm social/6:00pm meeting
Where: SEIU Local 1000 Union Hall, 1325 S Street, Sacramento CA (large meeting room)

In March, we welcome City of Sacramento mayoral candidates Darrell Steinberg and Angelique Ashby in addressing our board, members and neighbors. While ECOS will not be making an endorsement as a group, we value the opportunity for voters to learn more about these local leaders.

Arrive early for reception with wine, light refreshments, music and social time, beginning at at 5:30 pm. The meeting will begin at 6pm. Feel free to bring a snack to share.

As always:
– ECOS Committees will report on their activities.
– Announcements are welcome at the end.
– Everyone who is interested is welcome! Bring a friend!

In case you missed it, the Sacramento Bee featured a special piece by Dan Weintraub on March 6, 2016 about the commitments of Angelique Ashby and Darrell Steinberg to making the City of Sacramento a more pedestrian- and bike- friendly city.

You can read the article here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article63877837.html

Massive Public Works Project Will Help Clean Sacramento River

February 16, 2016

By Amy Quinton

Capital Public Radio

Regional Transit seeks input on fare increases

At the RT Board of Directors meeting held on January 25, 2016, RT staff presented a financial update and fare change proposal, which outlined a plan to increase fares by approximately 20 percent, effective July 1, 2016. The draft fare change proposal and Title VI Fare Equity Analysis are available for review at sacrt.com.

RT staff will present a recommendation to the RT Board of Directors on Monday, March 14, 2016, at 6 p.m. at the RT Auditorium (1400 29th Street at N Street).

The public is encouraged to provide feedback during the 30-day comment period from February 1 through March 1, 2016. RT will hold five open houses to discuss proposed fare changes and receive public comments. The public can also provide comments via an online survey, email, mail or phone.

Remaining Open Houses:

Tuesday, February 16
Noon to 7 p.m.
RT Auditorium
1400 29th Street, Sacramento
Accessible by light rail to the 29th Street Station, and Routes 38, 67 and 68

Wednesday, February 17
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Arcade Library
2443 Marconi Avenue, Sacramento
Accessible by Routes 25 and 26

Tuesday, February 23
Noon to 7 p.m.
Citrus Heights Community Center
6300 Fountain Square Drive, Citrus Heights
Accessible by Routes 1, 23 and 95

Thursday, February 25
Noon to 7 p.m.
Cosumnes River College – Winn Center
8401 Center Parkway, Sacramento
(East entrance off of Bruceville Road)
Accessible by light rail to the Cosumnes River College Station, and Routes 54, 55 and 56

At the RT Board of Directors meeting held [on January 25, 2016], RT staff presented a financial update and fare change proposal, which outlined a plan to increase fares by approximately 20 percent, effective July 1, 2016.

Details of the proposal can be found online at sacrt.com. The proposed new fare structure is as follows:
Basic Single Fare – $3.00
Discount Single Fare – $1.50
Basic Daily Pass – $7.50
Discount Daily Pass – $3.75
Basic Monthly Pass – $120.00
Basic Semi-Monthly Pass – $65.00
Student Semi-Monthly Sticker – $30.00
Student Semi-Monthly Sticker (Free/Reduced Lunch) – $20.00
Senior/Disabled Monthly Sticker – $70.00
Senior/Disabled Semi-Monthly Sticker – $35.00
Paratransit Single Fare – $6.00
Paratransit Monthly Pass – Discontinued
Light rail single fare ticket time limit reduced from two hours to 90 minutes
Concerns about the adverse effects the proposal would have on the disabled community and ridership overall dominated the conversation late into the evening.

For more information, visit sacrt.com.

Jan 8 Update: Sacramento City Tree Ordinance

January 8, 2016

UPDATE: a new community letter has been submitted. Visit our Trees Sacramento page for more details.

Trees Sacramento is a group of community members working to improve the City of Sacramento’s tree ordinance. Some of the changes being proposed will benefit developers and could cost residents many of the city’s trees that we have come to know and love.

Main Points

The revisions to the Sacramento city tree ordinance currently being proposed are bad for our community because they:

conflict with General Plan policies for the Urban Forest
degrade existing standards for tree removal
remove the right of citizens to appeal removals of city-owned trees
will result in more frequent removal of healthy trees and their public benefits to
residents

Fact Sheet

Trees Sacramento has released a fact sheet to help you understand why we need to act now protect the trees in the City of Trees.

Community Letter

ECOS signed on to a Community Letter on Revising Sacramento’s Tree Ordinances submitted January 4, 2016 to the City of Sacramento’s law and legislation committee in anticipation of their reviewing the latest proposed tree ordinance on January 12, 2016. The law and legislation committee pulled the item from their agenda on January 8, 2016 and will resume the discussion at a later time.

Other Cities

Other cities have found ways to create more transparency and better monitoring by citizens. For example, in Portland:

Tree loss spurs Portland residents to action

Tree Project Oversight Advisory Committee

Get in Touch

Get in touch with the Trees Sacramento coalition by emailing them at trees4sacto[at]sbcglobal[dot]net.